Dear Democratic Women and Friends:The good thing about all the bad things that this Republican General Assembly is pushing through is that it gives us so much to do!Tomorrow, Thursday March 28 for example, you can join OFA and Mayors Against Illegal Guns in a National Day to Demand Action to Prevent Gun Violence.We are so proud that our mayor is standing tall in this campaign against gun violence.Come to Durham City Hall (2nd Floor Conference Room) at 10:30 AM. RSVP at https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gsk4zvThursday afternoon is a good time to find out what we can do to Save Our State at a forum organized by Scholars for a Progressive North Carolina. I love the description of this forum: …it will sound a scholarly alarm about the policy direction being pursued by the new North Carolina General Assembly, in the face of overwhelming evidence of the dangers it poses to North Carolina’s progressive legacy and current economic recover, and to the prospects for shared prosperity and inclusive democracy.Participants include: Speakers Hodding Carter, Katherine Charron, Jacquelyn Hall, Wille Jennings, Robert Korstad, David Jolly, Helen Ladd, and Lisa Levenstein.5:00 PM at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy in Room 04. RSVP herehttp://sites.duke.edu/spnc/2013/03/01/save-our-state-scholars-speak-out-on-north-carolinas-new-direction/Last week, Gene Nichol of UNC’s Poverty Center sounded the alarm, too, in a passionate no-holds-barred op ed in the N&O titled On Being Governed by Brigands.Here’s an excerpt to inspire you:The victors are, to understate, striking while the iron is hot. Though we have among the highest poverty rates, the highest unemployment rates, the highest “food insecurity” rates, the highest uninsured rates and the highest levels of income inequality in the nation, our leaders have concluded, all facts to the contrary, that the only thing wrong with North Carolina is that those at the bottom have too much and those at the top don’t have enough.We decided to reject a Medicaid expansion that would benefit us more than virtually any other state – shoving us to the right of even the pernicious Rick Scott of Florida. Over 500,000 needy citizens are now effectively ejected from the health care system, though the feds were ready to foot almost the entire bill.We cut unemployment insurance dramatically in a way that will forfeit federal funds appropriated as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations – brushing aside money, once again, already on the table. A bumbling committee chairwoman explained she’d been working on the changes for weeks and didn’t want to go back and re-do things to get the federal dollars. Too much trouble. After all, it’s just food and sustenance and housing for 170,000 immensely distressed human beings. Whoever cares?We’re moving to end the state’s exceedingly modest earned income tax credit. …And we’re re-introducing payday lending, long outlawed here, to help wealthy folks steal more readily from impoverished ones. Government by brigands.…According to the legislative leadership, the right to vote, the Racial Justice Act and the destruction of the public schools are on deck. No time to tarry. A clean sweep is in order.This state crawled and scratched its way out of the South’s basement by a determined, longstanding and multi-generational effort to invest in its people and its places. Sadly, those hard-won initiatives, we now see, can be scrapped in an instant.We can suffer such damage in two or four or six years that it will take generations to recover. We face exigency, true and unrelenting, cruel and demeaning, serious and deadly. An outraged citizenry is now obliged to rise in order to protect its children, its future and its shared bond.That can’t wait for the next electoral season. It’ll be too late. See you in the streets.Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/20/2766538/on-being-governed-by-brigands.html#storylink=cpyThis is why we have to act – now.So please, let’s make sure our voices are heard.Write. Send a postcard to Governor McCrory reminding him that it’s not too late to bring all the benefits of Medicaid Expansion into the state.Send letters and emails to your state rep and senator to let them know where you stand on Medicaid Expansion or if you prefer -- supporting public education and public higher education, the Earned Income Tax Credit, early voting, voter ID, the Racial Justice Act. Any or all of the above.Urge your friends who live in districts with Republican reps to write to their reps and let them know where they stand.Write a letter to the editor. It’s so easy now that all the papers have online forms. And reading letters that stand up for our values encourages all of us and reminds everyone that we are not surrendering our state to these brigands.Visit our website at www.durhamdemwomen.org for more information about writing letters.Come out to the Legislature to make your voice heard.Thursday, April 4. The GA comes to Durham. Come hear Mike Woodward, Durham’s newest Senator, share his experiences since he moved from the Durham City Council to the General Assembly. We were happy to hear Mike speak out in strong support of women at the Not in her Shoes rally lasts week at the State House. Join him at 7:00 PM for a town meeting at the North Regional Library, 221 Milton Rd, Durham 27712.Tuesday, April 9 is Women’s Advocacy Day at the General Assembly. Come at 9:00 AM to be inspired and get some tips on talking to your legislators. And then stop by their offices, and let them know how you feel about the GA’s efforts to dismantle all the public goods that North Carolina citizens depend on to protect our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. See more information at the North Carolina Women United website.http://www.ncwu.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/NCWU-April-9-Advocacy-Day-with-bullets_V2.pdfWednesday, April 17, 10 AM- Noon we hope to launch a weekly vigil to Save our State in front of the NC General Assembly building. Check our website atwww.durhamdemwomen.org or our Facebook page for more information on how to sign up to participate. https://www.facebook.com/groups/77234686574/?fref=tsSunday, April 28, 3:00-5:30 PM. Please save the date for our next Durham Democratic Women meeting.Remember, we can’t wait for the next electoral season. We need to come together and act now. We can make a difference.SondraSondra G. SteinPresidentDurham Democratic Womenwww.durhamdemwomen.orghttps://www.facebook.com/groups/77234686574/?fref=ts– Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.Margaret Mead